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CONTEXTS & CULTURES

Guiding the Spiritual but Not Religious
Tom Stella

This book is not specifically addressed to Christians who baby with the bathwater, for he now searches for the
are firmly established in their faith and have nothing more spiritual meaning of religious truths.
to learn about its beliefs. It is written for the waverers, both
inside and outside; that is to say for those who instead of A Desert Journey
giving themselves wholly to the Church, either hesitate on It is often the case that for Martin and others like him,
its threshold or turn away in the hope of going beyond it. the journey from the Egypt of confining beliefs does not
(Teilhard de Chardin, 47) lead directly to the Promised Land of new perspectives but
to a desert of uncertainty, a time of not knowing what they
ierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, priest, believe. Pulitzer Prize–winning author Annie Dillard refers
paleontologist, and author of The Divine to this wandering and wondering as a series of “night-blind
Milieu, from which the above quote is mesas and flayed hills” (69), for when we no longer reso-
taken, writes specifically for Christians; nate with the traditional interpretation of religious truths,
however, his words can easily apply articulations that once provided meaning and security in a
Pto people of all faith traditions who no world that often seems devoid of both, and when we leave
longer find meaning in the religious teachings that once behind the communities in which we learned them, our
made sense to them. The “waverers” he speaks of are life’s journey can be precarious, uncertain, and lonely.
more commonly referred to as “seekers” today, and they Your experience may be different from mine, but I find
often self-identify as spiritual but not religious. Theirs is a myself dealing more and more with spiritual directees
growing number, and they are, indeed, found both inside who are uncertain about what they believe; they are the
and outside of the places people gather to learn about and “spiritually homeless and hungry.” Homeless because
to worship their God. their search for truth often leaves them feeling they no
longer belong in the company of traditional believers.
Martin, one of the people whom I serve as a spiritual They are hungry because the religious teachings that once
director, is a good example of a seeker. He long ago out- satisfied them are no longer sufficient. In this article I
grew the understanding of the Christian faith that was write about how spiritual directors might best assist the
presented to him in his youth. He no longer believes that Martins of this world. Because theirs is often an arduous
God is a supreme being, that Jesus died for our sins, or journey, a spiritual director must be a trusted companion
that his resurrection was a physical occurrence. Martin no who is compassionately present and lighthearted.
longer believes the Bible is inerrant or that heaven and
hell are places he may inhabit for eternity. Although he Companionship
attends worship services from time to time, the church Harvard psychologist Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass)
community Martin was once an active part of is now once referred to our role in one another’s lives as “walking
more a hindrance than a help on his spiritual journey. each other home.” This seems to me a good description
This is so because he needs more than he is given there. of what takes place in spiritual direction with seekers: we
Martin needs a message from the pulpit that is not lim- accompany them as they search for a “place” they can call
ited to moral directives, and his soul requires dialogue home; that is, a way of living and believing that nurtures
with others that affirms his questioning and confirms his their soul.
holy hunch that matters of faith are more about mystery Using imagery from the Hebrew Scriptures’ book of
than they are about beliefs that require mastery. Like so Exodus, the monk and poet Thomas Merton claims that
many others both young and old, Martin would say “I’m the Red Sea only parts in water over your head! Because
spiritual but not religious.” And although he is uncertain the way forward is mucky, a spiritual director should be
about what he believes, Martin has not thrown out the a “pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night”

Volume 20 No. 3 • September 2014 55